Sunday, October 10, 2004
Do you accept this Pakistan?
Do you accept this Pakistan ... this was the title of a report on the various "Cultural Activities" mushrooming in the land of the pure. It was posted on a certain forum for the expat Pakistanis, and a discussion had ensued. The response of most of our countrymen in Dubaidom was that of shock and utter disgust. Here we were thinking we were so much better than the faltering Arabs, and then we realised that we were no better than anyone. Worse, if at all. I am not sure if it is right or wrong, but many of us who were born here and weaned on the concept of "Islamic Republic of Pakistan", who live our lives as Proud Pakistanis taking pride in our conservative values, are jolted when brought face to face with what is rather than what should have been. I got my jolts back in 1994 when I had landed in Islamabad. I have since developed an immunity to the attempts at "Liberalization", and was therefore not really shocked at the report. Merely saddened.
I am sitting here in my office, trying to locate a boring official document, and I chanced upon this below peice that I had posted in response. It got me thinking, a year down the road, I feel just the same....
"A few years ago, I had a friend visit me from Lahore. We were room mates in our college days. It was good having him here, and reminiscing the fun days - the late nights at our room, the jesting, the animated arguments, the movies, and then the very early breakfast at some Doodh-Dahi ki dookan. The most adventurous moral transgression was limited to an odd rated movie, or a pack of cigarettes. (I will not have you believe we were all saints)
Then, he proceeded to tell me how he had had a chance to witness another way of life in Lahore. A private party at a bungalow, drinking and dancing, 30-something sari clad ladies making rather indiscreet passes at this 21 year old, and the party culminating in the wee hours of the morning after much hoopla. I brushed most of it aside thinking the story was heavily exaggerated - and I made room for the possibility that this was perhaps a norm in a secluded segment of the society. This couldn't be happening in the mainstream Pakistani society. No Sirreee - Our people would have no part of it.
Little had I realized then that the truth would be driven home so forcefully, so soon.
No, of course not! I do not accept this Pakistan.
This is not the Pakistan our forefathers had envisioned. If this were the society we intended to become, we had no reason to go through the bloodshed of 1947, and the subsequent wars. Before long, the protagonists of this wave of debauchery will begin to ask this very fundamental question. And it will pass down the strata of the society. We are a confused nation as it is. This main stream departure from what is left of our identity will bankrupt us.
I am all for peace and tolerance. I endorse any measures taken to curb Terrorism, sectarianism, sectarian violence and extremism. (I am a proud fundamentalist). I am the most vocal proponent, you will find, of an enduring peace in South East Asia, and specifically between Pakistan and India. That is a lot really, when you factor in the fact that I am from Azad Kashmir. It works more in our favor than it does in India's. India is well on it's way to becoming an economic giant, if you don't consider it one already. It can afford to set aside petty cash to encourage or counter misadventures on the LOC. We cannot.
But, let us just be sure that peace with India does not become a merger with India. Cultural or Geographical. Let us remember what our identity is. Liberal/Moderate thought is not and should not be deemed to be limited to heads on naked shoulders. It's only pre-requisite is responsible shoulders. Let those shoulders be ours."
¶ 10/10/2004 10:50:00 AM
I am sitting here in my office, trying to locate a boring official document, and I chanced upon this below peice that I had posted in response. It got me thinking, a year down the road, I feel just the same....
"A few years ago, I had a friend visit me from Lahore. We were room mates in our college days. It was good having him here, and reminiscing the fun days - the late nights at our room, the jesting, the animated arguments, the movies, and then the very early breakfast at some Doodh-Dahi ki dookan. The most adventurous moral transgression was limited to an odd rated movie, or a pack of cigarettes. (I will not have you believe we were all saints)
Then, he proceeded to tell me how he had had a chance to witness another way of life in Lahore. A private party at a bungalow, drinking and dancing, 30-something sari clad ladies making rather indiscreet passes at this 21 year old, and the party culminating in the wee hours of the morning after much hoopla. I brushed most of it aside thinking the story was heavily exaggerated - and I made room for the possibility that this was perhaps a norm in a secluded segment of the society. This couldn't be happening in the mainstream Pakistani society. No Sirreee - Our people would have no part of it.
Little had I realized then that the truth would be driven home so forcefully, so soon.
No, of course not! I do not accept this Pakistan.
This is not the Pakistan our forefathers had envisioned. If this were the society we intended to become, we had no reason to go through the bloodshed of 1947, and the subsequent wars. Before long, the protagonists of this wave of debauchery will begin to ask this very fundamental question. And it will pass down the strata of the society. We are a confused nation as it is. This main stream departure from what is left of our identity will bankrupt us.
I am all for peace and tolerance. I endorse any measures taken to curb Terrorism, sectarianism, sectarian violence and extremism. (I am a proud fundamentalist). I am the most vocal proponent, you will find, of an enduring peace in South East Asia, and specifically between Pakistan and India. That is a lot really, when you factor in the fact that I am from Azad Kashmir. It works more in our favor than it does in India's. India is well on it's way to becoming an economic giant, if you don't consider it one already. It can afford to set aside petty cash to encourage or counter misadventures on the LOC. We cannot.
But, let us just be sure that peace with India does not become a merger with India. Cultural or Geographical. Let us remember what our identity is. Liberal/Moderate thought is not and should not be deemed to be limited to heads on naked shoulders. It's only pre-requisite is responsible shoulders. Let those shoulders be ours."
¶ 10/10/2004 10:50:00 AM
